FIFA World Cup 2022: What does ‘Al Hilm’ mean, significance, features of new ball to be used for semifinals and final

All of the matches at FIFA World Cup 2022 so far have been played by the official match ball from Adidas named ‘Al Rihla’. However, there’s a new official ball introduced by Adidas for the two semifinals, the third-place playoff match and the final of the 2022 World Cup edition. 

The new ball unveiled by Adidas Monday was named ‘Al Hilm’ which translates as “The Dream” in Arabic, follows on from its predecessor, Al Rihla, which translates as “The Journey”.

The new ball ‘Al Hilm’ has been designed on similar lines to ‘Al Rihla’ as they were engineered to travel faster than any of the other balls at previous World Cups. The environment of Qatar was also taken into consideration, and all of the elements of the balls were made with water-based inks and glues. 

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The design features a textured gold base colour, with subtle triangular pattern, which takes inspiration from the deserts surrounding the city of Doha. 

Johannes Holzmuller, the director of football technology and innovation at FIFA said that the ball will track data which will be able to ‘unique storytelling’ from the FIFA World Cup 2022 final games. 

#FIFAWC: Special Ball ‘Al Hilm’ Unveiled For Semi-Finals and Final | What’s special in this ball?

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“With the development of the connected ball technology, Adidas made it possible that an additional important layer of information is available to the video match officials,” said Holzmuller. He further added, “The data from the ball unlocks new insights for storytelling around the unique moments on the pitch at this World Cup.”

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Indeed Adidas were able to confirm through the sensors inside the ball, which sparked an end to a major controversy after Cristiano Ronaldo claimed a headed goal, which FIFA officially awarded to Bruno Fernades, and it was later revealed that actually Ronaldo had not touched the ball. 

Nick Craggs, general manager at Adidas while talking about the new ball ‘Al Hilm’ said, “Al Hilm represents a beacon of light on the power of sport and football to bring the world together.”